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Last night I went and saw Kimbra play some music live. My friend Trent and I began the evening by waiting in line to get into the show. We were directly behind this cute little girl in a leopard print dress including a black tu tu. To top everything off, her shoes were actually bright red, fuzzy slippers with little claws. She had a cat obsession, clearly.

The wonderful thing about this little girl was how playful she was, and that special something that warmed my heart: she was reading comics. [this post was just interrupted by a package being delivered for a book called “Reading Comics” which is not the book I was hoping to read on the plane, but, oh well, I still got a book] This little girl was full of energy taking her mom’s phone to use as a flashlight at the tables near the back of the venue (we ended up sitting behind them). She was reading away first with a Sonic the Hedgehog comic and then with some sort of Angry Birds space picture book. You could tell her mom was there for the music and this girl was there to satisfy her mom and to read books.

(The best quote from her was right before The Stepkids (who were reallllly bad) started playing another song and she exclaimed, “OH NO NOT AGAIN!”)

In case you haven’t gleaned from previous posts, I am an avid advocate for children’s comics. I believe that companies should devote more time to fostering creative energy in children and start them early on comics. Instead of the five titles a month coming out of the “Big Two” why not double or triple that? You can tell that they have some sense of trying to get kids on comics, but that’s only one day of the year: Free Comic Book Day. The comic companies are aware that children read comics, but they’re so caught up in appealing to this artificial white men, teens to 40s demographic that they don’t realize comics are for everyone! This little girl is an example, Archie is appealing not only to the much younger generation’s demographic but also the little girls’ demographic.

Comics deserve to be in hands and read by everyone. Companies should put emphasis on all readers rather than just alienating everyone outside of the superficial demographic. Luckily, the “Big Two” aren’t the only ones making comics and the others know how to focus on kids. Still, the “Big Two” have the (some) more recognizable characters so they should put an increased amount of effort into children’s comics.

Unfortunately, the little girl and her mom left right before the show was over. I was going to get their attention and tell them, “hey, some of the best comics around for people your age are ____…”